organization gave him a base of operation throughout the South , as well as a national platform . The organization felt the best place to start to give African Americans a voice was to enfranchise them in the voting process . In February 1958 , the SCLC sponsored more than 20 mass meetings in key southern cities to register black voters in the South . King met with religious and civil rights leaders and lectured all over the country on race-related issues .
In 1959 , with the help of the American Friends Service Committee , and inspired by Gandhi ’ s success with non-violent activism , Martin Luther King visited Gandhi ’ s birthplace in India . The trip affected him in a deeply profound way , increasing his commitment to America ’ s civil rights struggle . African-American civil rights activist Bayard Rustin , who had studied Gandhi ’ s teachings , became one of King ’ s associates and counseled him to dedicate himself to the principles of non-violence . Rustin served as King ’ s mentor and advisor throughout his early activism and was the main organizer of the 1963 March on Washington . But Rustin was also a controversial figure at the time , being a homosexual with alleged ties to the Communist Party , USA . Though his counsel was invaluable to King , many of his other supporters urged him to distance himself from Rustin .
In February 1960 , a group of African-American students began what became known as the “ sitin ” movement in Greensboro , North Carolina . The students would sit at racially segregated lunch counters in the city ’ s stores . When asked to leave or sit in the colored section , they just remained seated , subjecting themselves to verbal and sometimes physical abuse . The movement quickly gained traction in several other cities . In April 1960 , the SCLC held a conference at Shaw University in Raleigh , North Carolina with local sit-in leaders . Martin Luther King Jr . encouraged students to continue to use nonviolent methods during their protests . Out of this meeting , the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee formed and for a time , worked closely with the SCLC . By August of 1960 , the sit-ins had been successful in ending segregation at lunch counters in 27 southern cities .
By 1960 , Martin Luther King Jr . was gaining national notoriety . He returned to Atlanta to become co-pastor with his father at Ebenezer Baptist Church , but also continued his civil rights efforts . On October 19 , 1960 , King and 75 students entered a local department store and requested lunch-counter service but were denied . When they refused to leave the counter area , King and 36 others were arrested . Realizing the incident would hurt the city ’ s reputation , Atlanta ’ s mayor negotiated a truce and charges were eventually dropped . But soon after , King was imprisoned for violating his probation on a traffic conviction . The news of his imprisonment entered the 1960 presidential campaign , when candidate John F . Kennedy made a phone call to Coretta Scott King . Kennedy expressed his concern for King ’ s harsh treatment for the traffic ticket and political pressure was quickly set in motion . King was soon released . ‘ I Have a Dream ’
In the spring of 1963 , Martin Luther King Jr . organized a demonstration in downtown Birmingham , Alabama . Entire families attended . City police turned dogs and fire hoses on demonstrators . Martin Luther King was jailed along with large numbers of his supporters , but the event
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